The Toledo-based Regional Growth Sponsorship has helped to foster economic development projects throughout the region, including the recent expansion of Charles River Laboratories in Spencerville that included adding 105 new jobs.
File Photo | The Lima News
LIMA — The Toledo-based Regional Growth Partnership has played a pivotal role in Lima’s economic development through relationships and collaborations. Established in 1996, the RGP focuses on creating business investment opportunities in 17 counties throughout northwest Ohio, demonstrating that the organization is not Toledo-centric.
“Lima is one of our biggest success stories,” president and CEO Dean Monske said.
Chase Eikenbary, vice president of project management, and Jeff Sprague, regional talent manager, both live in the Lima area, which strengthens the relationship between the RGP and the Lima area, according to Monske.
Sprague served as president and CEO of the Allen County Economic Development Group for six years and as president and CEO of Greater Lima Region, Inc. for over a year before taking on his role with RGP.
When discussing the work of the RGP in the Lima area, Monske recognized local elected officials, including Ohio Sen. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, Ohio Rep. Susan Manchester, R-Waynesfield and former Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp for their support.
“It’s incredible the hand they’ve played in the success we’ve had,” he said. “That support is valuable and you guys (in Lima) have it more than anybody else.”
In 2023, Lima and Allen County contributed 19 projects, 179 new jobs, and $139 million in investments to the RGP.
Notable projects Monske highlighted were Proctor & Gamble, Charles River Labs in Spencerville and Joint Systems Manufacturing Center.
Lima has benefited from the Regional Growth Partnership and JobsOhio, receiving two downtown vibrancy grants aimed at revitalizing the area, making it the only city in northwest Ohio to receive multiple grants, according to Monske.
One grant was awarded in collaboration with Tracie Sanchez for the Central District, while the other was obtained through John Heaphy for the Spring & Main District.
“To be able to keep young people in the area, you need job opportunities and things for them to do downtown,” he said.
The RGP conducts business through marketing and project management.
“We are the marketing arm for northwest Ohio, and what we’re marketing are the business assets of those 17 counties,” he said.
The biggest audience targeted by the RGP is national site location consultants who work with companies to help identify the spaces they need to go to put a new facility, create new jobs, and invest new capital.
Attracting the consultants is important for multiple reasons.
“We are reaching out to them because some of the top ones are doing upwards of 70 deals per year,” he said. “We’re trying to attract them but so is every other region in the country.”
When a company considers locating in northwest Ohio, RGP takes the lead in trying to make that a reality.
“We manage the process from soup to nuts: identifying what building space they need, working with all of our partners from the governor’s administration to JobsOhio to county economic development leaders,” he said.
Monske sees no sign of business slowing down in the future.
“The relationships we’ve built over the last 20 years will lead to an incredibly bright future,” he said. “When it comes to technology and data centers, all of the biggest of the big companies that are household names — we’re working with every one of them.”
Reach Cade Higgins at 567-242-0351.
